MESA, Ariz. – The Cubs brought Tyler Chatwood into the fold this winter with the belief that getting away from Coors Field would allow him to utilize his impressive curveball more frequently. But 12 pitches, 11 of which were either four- or two-seam fastballs, in his one-inning stint to open his spring season wasn’t really the ideal opportunity to do so.

“That was my plan today,” Chatwood said when asked if he’d use more curves in future spring outings. “You go in there trying to work on something, but when the situation dictates to get outs, you work on that. The competitive side takes over. But that’s definitely the plan. Use a lot more curveballs and changeups this spring.”

Chatwood’s curveball elicits excitement out of the Cubs brass due to its tantalizing potential. He used it around 10.6 percent of the time last season and struggled to find any consistency with it while in Colorado in a mile-high atmosphere notorious for sapping breaking balls...